Wang Yongzhu saw Song Chongjin and thought that it’s currently the mourning period, so it’s best not to make any mistakes.
He coughed to change the topic, "Brother Song, it’s good you’re back. I have something to discuss with you."
Song Chongjin also calmed down and looked at Wang Yongzhu awkwardly. They sat hand in hand on the kang: "What do you want to discuss with me?"
Wang Yongzhu then explained his plan to set up a tea garden, and before Song Chongjin could react, he moved closer and whispered in his ear: "I found two Tea Mother Trees near the wild tea forest in Yingzi Gully—"
Song Chongjin’s eyes widened immediately. He naturally knew what Tea Mother Trees represented, and his heart started pounding.
He lowered his voice as well: "Really?"
Wang Yongzhu nodded: "Those Tea Mother Trees have been there for hundreds of years and cannot be moved. I plan to take a few cuttings from the Tea Mother Trees and see if they can be grafted onto Qili Slope. If the cuttings take, I plan to buy the southern part of Qili Slope and set up a small tea garden."
"We’re not looking to make much money from this tea garden. First, we need to see if the cuttings from the Tea Mother Trees will survive. After that, we can think about large-scale grafting..."
Of course, Wang Yongzhu knew that with the Seed Selection and Cultivation Laboratory, the cuttings would surely survive. However, it was now after the Qingming Festival, which was not the best time for cultivating tea cuttings.
The best times are in October and the past March each year.
So it would be best to take this time to buy Qili Slope and make some improvements.
After speaking, he looked eagerly at Song Chongjin.
How could Song Chongjin not understand? He couldn’t help but smile and pinch Wang Yongzhu’s cheek, "I’ll talk to Lizheng tomorrow. Qili Slope is an ownerless hillside, but we still need to give some benefits to the villagers."
That’s what Wang Yongzhu had in mind. Although he had a good reputation now and everyone praised him, buying a mountain was a big deal. If he stepped in, things might get complicated and cause many issues.
But if Song Chongjin stepped in, there would be no such trouble. He was now a Scholar, and as long as Lizheng was sensible, he wouldn’t make things difficult for him.
Both having made up their minds, they rested.
Early the next morning, while having breakfast, Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin discussed their plan. Old Granny Zhang got excited first: "Girl, you mean Qili Slope will be ours in the future?"
Just as Wang Yongzhu was about to nod, Yang Zongbao showed a disapproving look.
Wang Yongzhu was puzzled: "Uncle, do you have a different opinion?"
Yang Zongbao gestured for a while and had Song Chongjin bring paper and pen. He wrote a few words: Too many people, too much attention.
Song Chongjin immediately understood and hesitated as he looked at Wang Yongzhu: "I think uncle is concerned that Qili Slope is too close to Qilidun and the villagers are used to treating it as their own. Even if we buy Qili Slope and set up a tea garden, it might be difficult to manage with so many people—"
Old Granny Zhang also understood immediately, "Oh dear, that won’t do! We can’t put up a fence on the mountain. If we set up a tea garden and those shallow-eyed people come to pluck some leaves or even uproot our tea trees, wouldn’t that benefit them? It’s better to listen to Brother Yang. We shouldn’t buy Qili Slope, or else our silver would go to waste."
Wang Yongzhu thought so too. He realized he was too naive. In these times, their family was too weak to oppose the entire village.
"Then where should we choose?" Wang Yongzhu worried.
Yang Zongbao gestured, indicating that he would take care of it. He had worked in a tea garden before and knew the best environment for tea.
There were many mountains around Qilidun, so finding a suitable one shouldn’t be difficult.
Wang Yongzhu also had an idea, not to mention Xiao Tiantian. This system usually had no use, but scanning for suitable slopes for tea trees shouldn’t be hard.
However, Yang Zongbao was genuine, so he couldn’t refuse.
Wang Yongzhu smiled and pulled Yang Zongbao’s sleeve: "Then I’ll leave it to uncle! It’s so good to have you, no worries!"
Yang Zongbao looked at his newly acquainted niece, who trusted him completely, and felt his heart warm up, naturally feeling a sense of responsibility.
He secretly vowed to find the best slope for his niece, even if he had to search all the surrounding mountains.
So, there was no rush to find Lizheng.
After breakfast, the Three Wang Brothers, with their wives and children, came to the backyard to formally greet their new uncle.
Yesterday, after discussing, they concluded that since their birth mother recognized him and their sister did, they should too.
So early in the morning, they brought everyone here.
One by one, they came forward to greet him. For the first meeting, as an uncle, he naturally had to give gifts.
Now that Lady Lin was stripped of her butler duties by Wang Yongfu, she saw this as an opportunity. She called him uncle fluently, hoping that Uncle Yang would be generous.
Yang Zongbao didn’t expect to gain so many nephews, nieces, nieces-in-law, and nephews-in-law in one visit to Qilidun.
How could he have prepared gifts?
Looking at the large family kneeling before him, eyes all on him.
His face turned red with embarrassment.
Old Granny Zhang handed him a small bundle, catching him off guard. He turned to look at her and understood at once that she was saving face for him.
His heart filled with complex emotions, but he steadied himself and passed the bundle to Wang Yongfu.
Then the third and fourth families also came forward, and Old Granny Zhang had prepared small bundles for each family.
Thus, the greetings were managed without issues.
Lady Lin noticed the small but bulging bundles and was itching to return to her room to see what was inside.
Hearing Old Granny Zhang dismissing them, she eagerly wanted to leave.
From behind, she heard Old Granny Zhang ask Lady Jiang and Liu Xiaoqiao to stay back to prepare clothing and shoes for Uncle Yang, so she quickly ran off, afraid of being called back by her mother-in-law.
Lady Jiang and Liu Xiaoqiao heard Old Granny Zhang instructing them to make clothes and shoes, and that she would provide the fabric.
They had heard their husbands talk about yesterday’s events.
If for nothing else, this uncle saved their mother-in-law, and they should be respectful.
Moreover, with fabric provided, it was just some manual work. How could they refuse?